Best Buy is dipping into the used game market with a few test stores in Texas.
Best Buy's CMO Barry Judge recently said in a blog that the company is moving into the used games market. However, the entry won't be immediate, as Best Buy is currently testing the process this week in several Dallas, and Austin, Texas stores. The move isn't exactly surprising, as the chain struggles--like many others--in current economic conditions. Launching the used games program not only provides additional revenue, but may provide a temporary security blanket as the gaming industry slowly moves away from physical distribution.
According to Judge, consumers will slip their used games into a kiosk that will scan it for "functionality." If accepted, the kiosk will immediately issue a voucher that is instantly redeemable for a Best Buy gift card. "It’s a pretty slick system and one of the few trade-in programs to provide instant gratification; you get the gift card on the spot and can redeem it on anything in the store--not just another game," he said.
Colin Sebastian of Lizard Capital Markets said that overall, Best Buy's venture will actually expand the used video game market while creating a new overhang on shares of GameStop, a games-specific retail chain that thrives on the sale of used video games. He also said that the firm estimates the size of the commercial used video game market in the $2.5 billion range worldwide, and will continue to grow with players such as GameStop, eBay, Amazon and others generating revenue.
As for Best Buy, Judge added in his blog that the company will also be testing the sale of used games in those particular Texas outlets, with many kiosks offering additional services such as game and movie rentals. "We’re excited about this test, especially because we know how deeply passionate our customers and our employees are about gaming, movies and entertainment overall. And the trade-in and used value propositions will give those passionate customers even more choice and value at Best Buy," he said.
While it sounds like the kiosk may be disk-based in nature, Judge did not elaborate on how the chain will handle games from Nintendo's DS and SP platforms, Sony's PSP UMD-based handheld, or any other game-based media in cartridge form.
- Anti-Piracy Lawyers Thwarted in Norway
- iPhone 3G Unlocking Tool Ultrasn0w Released
- Steve Ballmer Clarifies Rumors of New Xbox
- Big Brother Watches: FTC Monitors Blogs
- Google Execs to Face Milan Court Tomorrow
- Google to China: Fine, No Porn for You
- U.S. Expresses Concern Over China's Web Filter
- Apple Credits Buyers for iPhone Activation Issues
- T-Mobile to Launch HTC Magic (Android) in July
- Final Fantasy VII is Fastest Selling PSN DL
- Google Video Trial Delayed
- Hospital: Jobs Didn't Receive Preferential Treatment
- Time Warner, Comcast Bring Cable TV to Net
- Microsoft's Hohm Geared To Save You Money
- id Software Purchased by ZeniMax Media Inc.
- Sharp LCD HDTV's Banned From U.S. Sale
- Apple's iPhone 3GS Costs $179 to Build
- NSFW: Apple Approves First Adult App for iPhone
- iPorn App Pulled for Causing Server Meltdown
Lol.. "industry slowly movies away"...
Again TH?
Anything to drive Gamestop out of business, that's my motto.
Gamestop gives cash if you want it so I dont see the real appeal in giving my games to Best Buy only to be forced to buy something from their store.
Lol.. "industry slowly movies away"...Again TH?
Fixed!
/ Tuan
Best Buy sucks. This has already been done by Walmart. You'll have better luck selling the game on Ebay.
Lol.. "industry slowly movies away"...Again TH?
Thanks for pointing that out. -Kevin
Lol.. "industry slowly movies away"...Again TH?
get a life, no one cares about the spelling, all we want is the content.
AS for the topic, best buy should have done this earlier, but still it was a good idea, now i can save a few dollars on my wii games.
get a life, no one cares about the spelling, all we want is the content.AS for the topic, best buy should have done this earlier, but still it was a good idea, now i can save a few dollars on my wii games.
Speak for yourself, some of us have a grasp of the English language.
Even tho I'm Brazilian, I care for other languages just as I do for mine.
I may lack the correct grammar logic to write in English but I can still spot misspelled words.
Anyway, I read a bit earlier that a company is tauting that game download will only be readily available after 2014. I still think that those are already readily available. 100k copies of FF7 in just two weeks? Best Buy is shooting its foot. Or, they could sell it to Brazil on a discount since new games here cost around US$90,00..
Anything to drive Gamestop out of business, that's my motto.
I'm surprised eBay hasn't driven them out of business already, honestly.
the real question is how much will they give you for your game over gamestop?
Don't do it! Let them burn!!!! BURN!!!
the real question is how much will they give you for your game over gamestop?
Hopefully more or I'm going back to gamestop
Craigslist.org. I can sell my games online for twice as much as gamestop would like to rip me off for. I absolutely REFUSE to do any business with Gamestop after they tried to sell me a used game as a brand new game. If it's not sealed, it's used.
Gamestop gives cash if you want it so I dont see the real appeal in giving my games to Best Buy only to be forced to buy something from their store.
at 20% less you would get in store credit, which is already extremely low. more stores = more competition for gamestop which means better trade in values. please leave gamestop employee.
Amen brothers. Gamestop is ridiculous. $60 for a new PS3 game, $55 used. WTF is that all about? I know a well-kept used game is as good as a new one but at least TRY to make it seem like a deal.
Amen brothers. Gamestop is ridiculous. $60 for a new PS3 game, $55 used. WTF is that all about? I know a well-kept used game is as good as a new one but at least TRY to make it seem like a deal.
It isn't just the price they charge it is how much they pay to get those games. They are giving you $25 for a game they are going to slap on the shelf and sell for $50. There is no bargaining. They offer what they offer you take it or leave it. I can get better deals trading in cars to dealerships than what Gamestop offers! And at least the dealership won't try to sell me used cars as brand new, for full price, and hope I won't notice.
Best Buy sucks. This has already been done by Walmart. You'll have better luck selling the game on Ebay.
I agree Best Buy does suck. The way they handle employees especially. I have been in 1 BB that was everything I could hope for from a retail store. It is now the only BB I go to unless they direct me to another BB because of current stock.
Didn't Wal Marts model add the $ to your credit card not a gift card? My memory is coming up fuzzy on the details.
"but may provide a temporary security blanket as the gaming industry slowly moves away from physical distribution."
More like trying or wanting.
The day I can't buy a game from my local store is the day I quit playing. They want digital distro because it saves them money and gives them more control, I say screw them.
the real question is how much will they give you for your game over gamestop?
The problem is that you put the game in, and surrender your right to take it back, so they can give you a penny and you can't do a thing about it. It's like shipping in used gold through the mail, they "determine" how much it's worth and send you the money, an easy way to be ripped off. But if you'll never use it again you might as well get something for it....
"but may provide a temporary security blanket as the gaming industry slowly moves away from physical distribution."More like trying or wanting.The day I can't buy a game from my local store is the day I quit playing. They want digital distro because it saves them money and gives them more control, I say screw them.
I'm all for digital distribution as long as they loosen the security noose. There are some of us gamers out there that reinstall their O.S. ever couple months just for the hell of it. It can be a pain in the but to get these games to download again if at all. Of course what about those of us who get nostalgic? I still fire up SimCity 2000 every now and then, granted on a virtual PC now. But what about eight years from now and we want to play TeamFortress 2 again? Which I bought through Steam by the way. And they already are showing errors in the system.
ebay pays me more for my games.
The problem is that you put the game in, and surrender your right to take it back, so they can give you a penny and you can't do a thing about it. It's like shipping in used gold through the mail, they "determine" how much it's worth and send you the money, an easy way to be ripped off. But if you'll never use it again you might as well get something for it....
I'm sure there's a 'check trade-in value' button to let you see how much you get for any given game before you deposit it in. I would also imagine that there would be prompts such as; "Insert another game for trade-in", "finish transaction and obtain gift card", etc.
Craigslist.org. I can sell my games online for twice as much as gamestop would like to rip me off for. I absolutely REFUSE to do any business with Gamestop after they tried to sell me a used game as a brand new game. If it's not sealed, it's used.
I couldn't agree more tayb. that last part of your quote. I have argued that exact same thing before.
gamestop claimed they opened a game so they could put the box on display on the floor and no one could steal the contents. they also claimed the CD from inside was still sealed. I'm sorry though - not everything was sealed and some one else had their grubby hands on the extra's inside (was a collector's edition) before I did. to me that is NOT new and you certainly couldn't sell it for new online or anywhere except maybe to a close friend.
Craigslist.org. I can sell my games online for twice as much as gamestop would like to rip me off for. I absolutely REFUSE to do any business with Gamestop after they tried to sell me a used game as a brand new game. If it's not sealed, it's used.
I always, ALWAYS try to sell my used games to the end-players, and craigslist is awesome for that. It's win-win because you can sell it for more money than Gamestop will give you while they can still buy it for less than Gamestop will sell it to them. This BB thing could be a good fall-back if it offers enough credit for the games...
Ebay and Amazon are the best ways to hawk your used games. Best Buy probably is worse than Gamestop, just greedy companies looking to maximize their profits off you.
I don't think half of you realize that the more companies that go out of business lessens the job market and drives our economy further from recovery. Statements like "die BB" and "let em burn and go" are truely moronic ways of expressing what we all really want. We want good business practice and solid retail customer service. We want stores such as Best Buy and Gamestop to thrive yet not be greedy hogs.
Let the flaming begin.
I don't think half of you realize that the more companies that go out of business lessens the job market and drives our economy further from recovery. Statements like "die BB" and "let em burn and go" are truely moronic ways of expressing what we all really want. We want good business practice and solid retail customer service. We want stores such as Best Buy and Gamestop to thrive yet not be greedy hogs.Let the flaming begin.
to true bro, sure we want thigns cheaper , sure the game indsutry wants mroe control on thier media , but greed is not something we need in the mix or things will only get worse. right now the game indsutry is gettign REAL GREEDY , to the poitn that they could careless aobut what thier customers want , (look at EA , and atari with the securom BS) we DON'T need companies that are switching totally to online distro , and we don't need companies sellign "half" a game to us like EA's new incentive these thigns WILL kill retail outlets , sure the company gets thier money short term , but int eh end lossing reatial outlets will only cost these companies even more money.
now as for the stores them selves if they get greedy peopel will stop using them thus limiting teh economy and hurting every one around
oh also , the biggest cripple to our economy is not priates themselves , or even greedy companies , it's general ethic morals of society's young and currently that is at an all time LOW. more than half the peopel i know at teh ages of 19-25 think they have a "right" take what they want with out paying. they see these companies as scr3ewing us , so they think this gives them teh right to get that "bootleg" from the street vendor or the internet. People are starting to treat entertainment like a necessity of life (ie meaning they think the shit should be free). this is the biggest problem with our economy right now. half of us are stealling what we didn't earn and the rest of us either grap it used to avoid teh high prices that cover the cost of theft , or we don't get it at all. and thus the amrket suffers furth. any one that thinks piracy Doesn't hurt the industries is a moron. our current economy cleary shows that IT does as it affect prices. you pro pirate suckers , don't give me that shit about pirates not buying it any way so it isnt a loss sale. becasue piracy DOES affect the prices, and then hoenst consumers stop buying or buy used , THERE IS YOUR LOST SALE !!!!
LOL@Demon you're such an idiot. What do you work for the RIAA? Maybe you should read what one of the guys at EA think about pirating.
Now about the market. Whens the last time you needed to take a loan out to see a movie or buy a game? People taking out loans they couldn't afford, and banks pushing loans that they should've known better then doing in the first place. You do realize that's when the shit hit the fan?
Then there's say the RV makers.. Gas prices jumped, sales dropped, and put a shit load out of business. Anybody who doesn't think this had to do with gas prices is an idiot, and never worked for one.
Where's all your passion about those guys at? You say it's not greedy corporations... People pirating RV's? While that would be cool, for some reason I doubt that's the reason.